Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

Maybe I haven't been following this correctly, but it seems like the law says a EA is required anytime there's a "improvement". The state has been granting wavers, when perhaps it doesn't have the power to do so. This wasn't a problem until a controversial project (HSF) came along.

Not sure how this affects the water on Molokai, but then perhaps the powers that be are trying to force a crisis so that the law can be fixed come the next legislative session.

[WindwardOahuRN]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

from friday's star bulletin:

i wonder how many other agreements between the state and private companies will now be halted so that an EA can be done.

The big question is---is there anything that can be done to prevent Hawaii from becoming the laughing-stock of the business world?

What a pathetic comedy this situation has become.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

The big question is---is there anything that can be done to prevent Hawaii from becoming the laughing-stock of the business world?

Prevent? Too late for that I'm afraid.

The question is, what would it take to turn this around - to address this problem in a way that gives businesses some confidence in coming here? I think the Legislature needs to clean up this law. We can't have the courts do that. Because court cases are expensive and something of a gamble.

[Miulang]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

from friday's star bulletin:

the brou-haha over the superferry now is causing the AG's office to be cautious about allowing Molokai Ranch to use a state irrigation system to move drinking water from one end of the island to the other without an EA having been done, even tho this agreement has been standing for years. molokai ranch is, according to the piece, the main drinking water provider to west molokai.

i wonder how many other agreements between the state and private companies will now be halted so that an EA can be done.

The issue of Moloka'i Ranch's water rights is far more serious than the impact of HSF on the people of Hawai'i: you're talking about the survival of a group of homesteaders on an island that will always have issues with enough water.
For many years now, Moloka'i Ranch has been siphoning off about 80% of the irrigation water for its own use by its businesses, while the remaining 20% has been left to the homesteaders to use. Moloka'i Ranch is a private, for profit entity using a public resource.

For at least 35 years, the homesteaders in Hoolehua have been petitioning the State to give them back more water. The State instead has allowed Moloka'i Ranch to use the water for its developments at Maunaloa, Kaluakoi and soon, they hope, La'au Pt. So while the rest of the island has had water restrictions placed on them, the grass in Maunaloa and on the golf course at Kaluakoi remain green.

With the last lease expiring last year, it's a perfect time to conduct an EA
so that the island will know exactly how much water is left for everyone to use. Moloka'i, more than most of the other islands (except Kaho'olawe) is known to have scarce water resources. More than any other inhabited Hawaiian island, Moloka'i will be the one to reach its growth limits sooner rather than later. Without water, you don't have life.

Miulang

[helen]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

The question is, what would it take to turn this around - to address this problem in a way that gives businesses some confidence in coming here? I think the Legislature needs to clean up this law. We can't have the courts do that. Because court cases are expensive and something of a gamble.

For the next time? If some government agency says to a business you don't need to do some sort of enviromental study, do it anyway.

[LikaNui]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

A small handful of protesters from Kaua`i held a "press conference" today; they apparently were the organizers of the recent fiasco, where innocent passengers were harassed and their vehicles vandalized.
So KITV had a brief bit on the 5pm news about the "press conference" and I was shocked at something. As noted from this link at KITV's website:

The protesters said they felt it was necessary to resort to civil disobedience and block the harbor.
"Well, we had tried a number of ways previously "the legal way," and that was all turned aside; turned a deaf ear to us. So what was there left to do? To bring this to a head to bring it to the attention of general public," Dennis Chun said.

What shocked me is that Dennis Chun is apparently a teacher at Kaua`i Community College!!! What the bloody hell is a state employee doing not only endorsing civil disobedience, harassment, vandalizing and lawbreaking, but threatening to do it again!?!? (Which he said on the air.)
Why hasn't Chun been immediately relieved of his duties, if not outright fired for going on record urging his students to willfully break the law?
Is this really the kind of person we want educating our children?!? Hell NO.

[MatildaRose]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

A small handful of protesters from Kaua`i held a "press conference" today; they apparently were the organizers of the recent fiasco, where innocent passengers were harassed and their vehicles vandalized.
So KITV had a brief bit on the 5pm news about the "press conference" and I was shocked at something. As noted from this link at KITV's website:



What shocked me is that Dennis Chun is apparently a teacher at Kaua`i Community College!!! What the bloody hell is a state employee doing not only endorsing civil disobedience, harassment, vandalizing and lawbreaking, but threatening to do it again!?!? (Which he said on the air.)
Why hasn't Chun been immediately relieved of his duties, if not outright fired for going on record urging his students to willfully break the law?
Is this really the kind of person we want educating our children?!? Hell NO.

LikaNui, maybe I missed it, but where does the KITV website report say that Chun is a teacher?

[LikaNui]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

LikaNui, maybe I missed it, but where does the KITV website report say that Chun is a teacher?

I just saw it again on the 6pm news, and while he is being interviewed, the graphic underneath said "Dennis Chun ... Kaua`i Community College."

[LikaNui]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

I just saw it again on the 6pm news, and while he is being interviewed, the graphic underneath said "Dennis Chun ... Kaua`i Community College."

And I also found that Dennis Chun was on the Faculty Senate at KCC... and that his education background lists a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Hawaiian Studies from UH.
Most telling is this link at the UH System which shows this:

Name: Dennis J Chun
Email: dennisch@hawaii.edu
Affiliation: Faculty / Staff
Office Phone: (808) 245-8202
Office Fax: (808) 245-8220
Office Location: HAW ST
Job Title: Instructor
Department Name: Hawaiian Studies
Campus Affiliation: Kauai Community College

This buffoon should be fired immediately.

[GregLee]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

The National Geographic show on the SF was posted today (9/10/07) in the Usenet newsgroup alt.binaries.multimedia.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

A small handful of protesters from Kaua`i held a "press conference" today; they apparently were the organizers of the recent fiasco, where innocent passengers were harassed and their vehicles vandalized.
So KITV had a brief bit on the 5pm news about the "press conference" and I was shocked at something. As noted from this link at KITV's website:



What shocked me is that Dennis Chun is apparently a teacher at Kaua`i Community College!!! What the bloody hell is a state employee doing not only endorsing civil disobedience, harassment, vandalizing and lawbreaking, but threatening to do it again!?!? (Which he said on the air.)
Why hasn't Chun been immediately relieved of his duties, if not outright fired for going on record urging his students to willfully break the law?
Is this really the kind of person we want educating our children?!? Hell NO.

Well it seems now those who were victimized by those protesters have a name in which to fill on the police report as to who was the person or persons responsible for organizing this act of terroristic threatening and criminal property damage were.

That was pretty stupid to identify himself as the one responsible for that act of civil disobedience resulting in either charge.

[Miulang]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

Well it seems now those who were victimized by those protesters have a name in which to fill on the police report as to who was the person or persons responsible for organizing this act of terroristic threatening and criminal property damage were.

That was pretty stupid to identify himself as the one responsible for that act of civil disobedience resulting in either charge.

The KITV story says nothing about his being a teacher at KCC. Therefore, I believe he was exercising his rights as an American citizen to protest against something that he believes is not right. He isn't representing KCC. It would have been another story if that KITV story identified him as a teacher at KCC, representing KCC. And if he wasn't doing it as an individual citizen, then he was either part of Hui-R, 1000 Friends of Kauai, the Sierra Club, or the Kingdom of Atooi, all of whom had people representing those organizations at the protests in Nawiliwili.

I don't condone the intimidation of the ferry passengers, but if he and other individual citizens want to wave signs at HSF when it enters Nawiliwili Harbor again, I say it's his right, so long as he obeys the laws. It was also pointed out by numerous bloggers that the people who snatched up those $5 fares that HSF was offering due to the misinterpretation of the laws were also displaying a form of protest (they, in effect, were kinda breaking the law, too, when HSF decided to start service early).

Miulang

[helen]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

It was also pointed out by numerous bloggers that the people who snatched up those $5 fares that HSF was offering due to the misinterpretation of the laws were also displaying a form of protest (they, in effect, were kinda breaking the law, too, when HSF decided to start service early).

This I don't understand, which law (or laws) did the Hawaii SuperFerry sort of broke when they started service a few days earlier than scheduled?

Under charging people? Didn't tell the Coast Guard they were going a few days early?

To be honest considering the reasons for the protest I don't think it would have made any difference if the Hawaii SuperFerry started on time or a few days earlier than expected. Those protestors would have showed up no matter what.

[LikaNui]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

The KITV story says nothing about his being a teacher at KCC. Therefore, I believe he was exercising his rights as an American citizen to protest against something that he believes is not right. He isn't representing KCC. It would have been another story if that KITV story identified him as a teacher at KCC, representing KCC.

Clearly you don't receive KITV there in Seattle. Clearly you didn't see the news, and clearly you don't know what you're talking about. And clearly you conveniently overlooked what I wrote in post #518 just two hours ago, when I wrote this:

I just saw it again on the 6pm news, and while he is being interviewed, the graphic underneath said "Dennis Chun ... Kaua`i Community College."

Which part of that didn't you understand?

I don't condone the intimidation of the ferry passengers, but if he and other individual citizens want to wave signs at HSF when it enters Nawiliwili Harbor again, I say it's his right, so long as he obeys the laws.

You are clearly not paying attention. See my post #516, where Dennis Chun of KCC clearly said that not only did he approve of breaking laws, he was encouraging everyone to continue doing it.
Why do you insist on erroneously pontificating about something that happened and that was on TV several thousand miles away from where you live?!?

It was also pointed out by numerous bloggers that the people who snatched up those $5 fares that HSF was offering due to the misinterpretation of the laws were also displaying a form of protest (they, in effect, were kinda breaking the law, too, when HSF decided to start service early).

Quite possibly the stupidest thing I've read here yet.

[mel]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

It was also pointed out by numerous bloggers that the people who snatched up those $5 fares that HSF was offering due to the misinterpretation of the laws were also displaying a form of protest (they, in effect, were kinda breaking the law, too, when HSF decided to start service early).

Quite possibly the stupidest thing I've read here yet.

Good grief... I concur.

This is just like buying $1 and $9 airplane tickets. People saw a terrific deal advertised for $5 and they took advantage of it. Some of those very people posted about this right here on this message board not because they wanted to break the law, but because they wanted to take a quick trip to another island and bring their cars with them.. and it was a GREAT BARGAIN for $5 each way, per person, per vehicle. What is there to not understand way out there in the Northwestern States?

Better if she just goes and save whales in her own backyard instead of worrying about us taking advantage of the travel options Hawaii Superferry will offer.